In recent years the prevalence of video instructional websites has significantly increased. This is due in part to improved internet speeds and the desire for instant answers to questions. Online video streaming services such as YouTube and Vimeo are making it easier to share expertise and knowledge with a worldwide audience. One of the main advantages of video demonstrations over simple text and graphics is the ability to see what is being completed, in real time.
The Khan Academy is just one example of a free online video website. They are a not-for-profit organisation with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. They have a library of thousands of videos and hundreds of practical exercises. Two of the Khan Academy biggest donators are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google Inc. who have both invested millions of dollars for the purpose of course creation.
Michael Gove commented at this year’s BETT conference that the way in which education is delivered has barely altered in centuries, the fundamental model of school education is still a teacher talking to a group of pupils.
Online learning continues to grow in scale and popularity and it is important to think about how we can best use these resources to provide additional exciting learning opportunities to our young people.
Online learning can;
Disseminate learning much more widely than ever before - where only an internet connection is required.
Software can recognise and respond to different abilities, personalising teaching for every pupil. With the expert help of a teacher, students can progress at different rates.
Technology brings unprecedented opportunities for assessment. Teachers can now support pupils’ learning by assessing their progress in a much more sophisticated way, and sharing assessments with pupils and parents.
Recently there has been a considerable increase in the number of online learning websites, with a focus on teaching technology and science. Online courses are proving to be very popular and are in some cases a more convenient and affordable model of learning. Due to concerns around university and school budgets, student debt and (in some cases) tuition fees the idea of online learning may provide a new more sustainable approach. here in Scotland the best example is the scholar website.
All of these aid the possibility of 'flipping' the classroom. See references section Some reflections on this at Edutopia
In recent months there has been a ‘format war’ emerging between online universities. Currently the two main providers are Coursera (www.coursera.org - comprising of more than 12 worldwide universities) and edX (www.edx.org – comprising of Harvard, MIT, Berkley and Edinburgh universities). Prestigious institutions now have a global reach and can provide learning opportunities to students around the world for free. Class are taught by world-class professors or industry experts, allow learning at students own pace, provide instant feedback from quizzes and can reinforce concepts through interactive exercises.
The edX project appears to be adopting a position of affiliating with elite institutions and will likely offer a small number of courses customised for online delivery. edX is a not-for-profit enterprise – Founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They feature learning designed specifically for interactive study via the web and have committed a total of $60 million to launch edX and will draw funding from Harvard and MIT. The Gatt’s foundation have donated $9 million to the project and are just one of the many sponsors who recognise the important future of online learning. edX are currently offering a course called Introduction to Computer Science, during 2012 the on campus version of this course was the most popular course offered by Harvard and now it’s free to anyone in the world. The course requires about 160 hours of study over a 7 month period and successful students will receive a certificate from ‘Harvard X University’.
Coursera, a Silicon Valley-based company are a social entrepreneurship which means they are backed by investors. They will generate revenue from online visitors (rather than charging for services) in a similar model to that used by Google. Coursera currently have a far wider range of courses than edX.
The Khan Academy is just one example of a free online video website. They are a not-for-profit organisation with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. They have a library of thousands of videos and hundreds of practical exercises. Two of the Khan Academy biggest donators are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google Inc. who have both invested millions of dollars for the purpose of course creation.
Michael Gove commented at this year’s BETT conference that the way in which education is delivered has barely altered in centuries, the fundamental model of school education is still a teacher talking to a group of pupils.
Online learning continues to grow in scale and popularity and it is important to think about how we can best use these resources to provide additional exciting learning opportunities to our young people.
Online learning can;
Recently there has been a considerable increase in the number of online learning websites, with a focus on teaching technology and science. Online courses are proving to be very popular and are in some cases a more convenient and affordable model of learning. Due to concerns around university and school budgets, student debt and (in some cases) tuition fees the idea of online learning may provide a new more sustainable approach. here in Scotland the best example is the scholar website.
All of these aid the possibility of 'flipping' the classroom. See references section Some reflections on this at Edutopia
In recent months there has been a ‘format war’ emerging between online universities. Currently the two main providers are Coursera (www.coursera.org - comprising of more than 12 worldwide universities) and edX (www.edx.org – comprising of Harvard, MIT, Berkley and Edinburgh universities). Prestigious institutions now have a global reach and can provide learning opportunities to students around the world for free. Class are taught by world-class professors or industry experts, allow learning at students own pace, provide instant feedback from quizzes and can reinforce concepts through interactive exercises.
The edX project appears to be adopting a position of affiliating with elite institutions and will likely offer a small number of courses customised for online delivery. edX is a not-for-profit enterprise – Founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They feature learning designed specifically for interactive study via the web and have committed a total of $60 million to launch edX and will draw funding from Harvard and MIT. The Gatt’s foundation have donated $9 million to the project and are just one of the many sponsors who recognise the important future of online learning. edX are currently offering a course called Introduction to Computer Science, during 2012 the on campus version of this course was the most popular course offered by Harvard and now it’s free to anyone in the world. The course requires about 160 hours of study over a 7 month period and successful students will receive a certificate from ‘Harvard X University’.
Coursera, a Silicon Valley-based company are a social entrepreneurship which means they are backed by investors. They will generate revenue from online visitors (rather than charging for services) in a similar model to that used by Google. Coursera currently have a far wider range of courses than edX.